The Indiecision ’10 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music.
The Best Song International is the best song released by an international artist from a debut album released in 2010.
‘Barceloner’
Dinosaur Pile-Up
That Dinosaur’s Pile-Up’s Matt Bigland is obsessed with Dave Grohl should come as no surprise to anyone. ‘Barceloner’ is heavily reminiscent of early Foo Fighters, albeit with a lo-fi, punkish twist. An insistent, fast-paced riff, energetic drumming and enveloping vocal harmonies make you forget that the lyrical content borders on the absurd. It’s all about the intensity and the hook, and when the hook works as it does in ‘Barceloner’, it makes for a thrilling ride.
‘Undertow’
Warpaint
There’s something so mystic and intimate about the way the girls of Warpaint weave their voices, as the heavy basslines on this track eat into your body. This psychedelic quartet uses floating vocals in a way we’ve never seen before to effortlessly invoke imagery in listeners’ minds. Misty and haunting throughout, ‘Undertow’ starts harmless and inviting, and grows teasingly sinister until a full-fledged urgent soundscape at the end reels you into an intense struggle, without your conscious consent.
‘Tightrope’
Janelle Monáe
For all of The ArchAndroid‘s Afrofuturistic posturing, at its roots it’s a great pop album. And the moments that stand out the most are those that relate to instantly recognisable pop essentials. ‘Tightrope’ is irresistible in its funk-adelic refrain, with Ms Monáe’s cleverly hitting Motown soul at the chorus. It’s easy, dirty, funk pop that’s unabashedly upbeat and distinctly groovy. You can’t help dancing. Heck, we’ll even forgive Outkast man Big Boi for rhyming “NASDAQ” with “ass-crack”.
‘Let’s Go Surfing’
The Drums
‘Let’s Go Surfing’ was a fan favorite long before The Drums chose to include it on their eponymous full-length debut album. Marrying ’60s surf pop with post punk might seem an extravagant indie indulgence, but The Drums manage to pull it off. The result is a quintessential feel-good-hit-of -the-summer, replete with whistling intro, harmonized lyrics, a frooty loop-ish drum track and a clapping bridge. The song exudes a cheerful positivity that 2010 badly needed; it’s the soundtrack of a simpler, happier time.
‘Heavy On Me’
Zeus
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more gripping refrain from this year’s batch of indie rockers than ‘Heavy On Me’. The highlight of Canadian quartet Zeus’ debut album Say Us, the song is a quintessential builder. Yet, each layer stands by itself. Whether it’s the flowery piano or the flowing guitar or the heavy bass, it’s the resounding way in which this song is an equal sum of its parts that makes it one of the year’s most memorable listens.
‘When I’m With You’
Best Coast
‘When I’m With You’ is the happiest, most carefree love song this summer has turned out. Its surf-pop appeal extends beyond an audience of stoners on the beach, into haplessly lovesick teenagers or anyone who can appreciate that state, into simplistic people who just want to let go and have fun. Vocalist/guitarist Bethany Cosentino drawls the same lines over and over (“When I’m with you I have fun / I hate sleeping alone”) with distant sunny harmonies echoing in the background, enriching the steady, easy guitars that characterize all of Crazy For You.
‘Desire Be Desire Go’
Tame Impala
We’d be willing to bet anything that this song is going to end up on at least one exciting film soundtrack. Australian psychedelic rock act Tame Impala’s debut album is coated in a thick, heavy kaleidoscopic buzz, most visible all over this trip-assisting song. Coursing over a strong fuzzy vintage riff, frontman Kevin Parker’s ridiculously John-Lennon-like airy vocals build this song into a solid optimistic melody of the blinding-sunlight variety. This song secures their place as The Beatles of the Tron generation.
‘Infinity Guitars’
Sleigh Bells
Distorted screeching guitars and tambourines and hand-clapping and confident hussy voices and stomping and actual sleigh bells? They’re singing about “dumb whores, best friends, cowboys, Indians” or something, but that hardly matters because this fearless new band is the catchiest pick of 2010. A duo composed of an ex-hardcore guitarist and an ex-teen pop vocalist, Sleigh Bells have melded these clashing sounds together to create a fresh sexy noisy brand of noise pop you can’t help but surrender and dance to.
‘Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell’
Das Racist
Remember that scene in Dude, Where’s My Car? where Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott discover they have tattoos that say “Dude” and “Sweet”? Now imagine that in song form, with an undertone of no-age social commentary on mass commercialism (dubbed by some as “Harold and Kumar existentialism”). It’s kinda telling that the YouTube upload of this song with the most views has the description “A shit song. I absolutely hate it.” ‘Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell’ threw Das Racist into a New York/south Asian media spotlight so polarizing, it put MIA’s shenanigans to shame. Lucky for us, they don’t give a shit.
‘Floating Vibes’
Surfer Blood
Few guitar songs in 2010 were as brazenly self-indulgent as Surfer Blood’s debut album opener ‘Floating Vibes’. The Florida band’s MO on this record was simple – catchy guitar hooks to frontman John Paul Pitts often tongue-in-cheek musings. But on ‘Vibes’, Pitts was surprisingly profound. His contemplations about leaving home and spreading “your name across the world” would otherwise be largely ignored within the heavy hook of the the song, but after the repeated listens that this song demands, you can’t help be taken by Pitts’ lyrical vibes. With a meaty opening riff and clean guitar tones throughout (not to mention healthy reverb) the song is musically feel-good college indie rock. But thematically, it’s a reminder that despite how far we may go to search for what we think we want to achieve, it’s our roots that keep us strong. And in the semi-virtual social hubbub of 2010, that’s perhaps the one lesson that served us best.
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